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Quote by Banana Yoshimoto

“And it seemed to me that even if you weren’t actively letting your emotions ride its surface, the ocean still went on giving you something, teaching you some sort of lesson. Perhaps that was why I had never actually considered its existence before—never really thought about the thundering of the waves as they sweep in endlessly toward the shore. But since I was thinking about it, what on earth did people in the city turn to when they felt the need to reckon with “balance"? Maybe the moon? That seemed like the obvious choice. But then the moon was so small and far away, and something about it felt sort of lonely, and it didn’t seem like it would really help . . .”

Quote by Banana Yoshimoto

Work

Goodbye Tsugumi

Goodbye Tsugumi is a work of fiction by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto. The story is narrated by Maria, who returns to her family's seaside inn to spend time with her cousin Tsugumi, a fiercely independent and often difficult young woman who suffers from a chronic illness. Set against the backdrop of a fading coastal resort, the novel explores themes of family bonds, the pain of change, and the bittersweet nature of farewells. Through Maria's memories and observations, the narrative captures the intensity of Tsugumi's personality and the emotional weight of a last shared summer before the inn closes and the cousins' lives diverge. The book is known for its lyrical prose and gentle, melancholic atmosphere. more

Author

Banana Yoshimoto
Banana Yoshimoto

Banana Yoshimoto is a Japanese writer celebrated for her minimalist and introspective style. Born on July 24, 1964, she gained prominence in the 1990s with her novel 'Kitchen'. Yoshimoto's works often delve into themes of loneliness, youth, and the complexities of human relationships. more

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“He speculated that, just as a powerful west wind blows away thick banks of clouds, the graphic, scorching emotion that passed through his soul in the form of a dream must have canceled and negated the longing for death, a longing that had reached out and grabbed him around the neck. All that remained now was a sort of quiet resignation. A colorless, neutral, empty feeling. He was sitting alone in a huge, old, vacant house, listening as a massive grandfather clock hollowly ticked away time. His mouth was closed, his eyes fixed on the clock as he watched the hands move forward. His feelings were wrapped in layer upon layer of thin membrane and his heart was still a blank, as he aged, one hour at a time.”

“As hard as I try, as hard as I always try, I cannot keep the sounds inside. Pain is a unique thing. You can feel so much of it at once that you don’t feel anything at all. You can have a little bit of pain and feel like crawling into a hole and dying. Then there’s the other amount of pain, the kind where it feels like the whole world is caving in on you and nothing will ever matter until it goes away, and everything is better again, and then you realize that you can’t keep in the screams, the laughter, the tears, the shouts. Everything wants to express itself at once because if it doesn’t, you will break into a million pieces and the pain will take over in ways it didn't before.”

“All peoples are more the same than they are different. We all mostly want the same things out of life, but those slight differences generate emotion, and emotion generates a sense of importance. Therefore, we come to perceive our differences as disproportionally more important than our similarities. And this is the true tragedy of man, that we are doomed to perpetual conflict over the slight difference.”